Firearm safety interlock

ABSTRACT

An interlock mechanism for a firearm that includes a stop lever and a cam lever is disclosed. The stop lever is coupled to a firearm safety mechanism such that when the safety mechanism is in a “fire” position the stop lever prevents the upper receiver of the rifle from being separated from the lower receiver of the rifle and when the safety mechanism is in a “safe” position the stop lever allows the upper receiver to be separated from the lower receiver. The cam lever has a “locked position” in which the upper receiver cannot be separated from the lower receiver and an “unlocked position” in which the upper receiver can be separated from the lower receiver. When the safety mechanism is in the “fire” position the stop lever prevents the cam lever from transitioning from the “locked position” to the “unlocked position”.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO OTHER APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/694,392, for “FIREARM SAFETY INTERLOCK” filed on Jul. 5, 2018 which is hereby incorporated by reference in entirety for all purposes.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate generally safety interlock features for firearms that prevent the firearm from firing and at least partially disables the action of the firearm.

BACKGROUND

The laws regarding firearm safety and regulations are in a constant state of flux. In some cases a firearm that used to be legal may become illegal and to make it legal the owner must add certain features to the firearm to make it comply with the new regulations. In some cases the modifications can be performed with the use of a kit that can be used to modify the firearm.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a modification kit for a firearm to prevent the upper receiver from being separated from the lower receiver when the safety mechanism is in a safe position, and can also prevent the safety mechanism from being moved into a fire position when the upper receiver is separated from the lower receiver.

In some embodiments an interlock mechanism for a firearm having an upper receiver and a lower receiver comprises a stop lever that is coupled to a firearm safety mechanism such that when the safety mechanism is in a “fire” position the stop lever prevents the upper receiver from being separated from the lower receiver and when the safety mechanism is in a “safe” position the stop lever allows the upper receiver to be separated from the lower receiver. In various embodiments the interlock mechanism further comprises a cam lever that has a “locked position” in which the upper receiver cannot be separated from the lower receiver and an “unlocked position” in which the upper receiver can be separated from the lower receiver.

In some embodiments when the safety mechanism is in the “fire” position the stop lever prevents the cam lever from transitioning from the “locked position” to the “unlocked position”. In various embodiments when the cam lever is in the “unlocked position” the cam lever prevents the safety mechanism from transitioning from the “safe” position to the “fire” position. In some embodiments the cam lever includes a pin portion that extends through the lower receiver and an arm that extends transverse to the pin, wherein the arm has a distal end. In some embodiments the firearm is an AR-15 style rifle.

In some embodiments a rifle modification kit comprises a cam lever including a pin portion that couples an upper receiver of the rifle to a lower receiver of the rifle and a stop lever that is attached to a safety mechanism of the rifle. When the safety mechanism is in a fire position the stop lever prevents the cam lever from rotating from a locked position to an unlocked position in which the upper receiver can be decoupled from the lower receiver, and when the safety mechanism is in a safe position the cam lever can rotate from the locked position to an unlocked position enabling the upper receiver to be decoupled from the lower receiver.

In various embodiments when the cam lever is in the unlocked position, the cam lever prevents the safety mechanism from being moved from the safe position to the fire position. In some embodiments the cam lever includes a pin portion that extends through the lower receiver and an arm that extends transverse to the pin, wherein the arm has a distal end. In various embodiments the rifle is an AR-15 style rifle.

To better understand the nature and advantages of the present disclosure, reference should be made to the following description and the accompanying figures. It is to be understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the scope of the present disclosure. Also, as a general rule, and unless it is evident to the contrary from the description, where elements in different figures use identical reference numbers, the elements are generally either identical or at least similar in function or purpose.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a rifle according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a receiver of the rifle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a receiver of the rifle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a receiver of the rifle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a receiver of the rifle of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a receiver of the rifle of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7-11 are perspective views of a cam lever, according to embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 12-13 are perspective views of a stop lever, according to embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a dimensioned drawing of one embodiment of a stop lever, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to safety interlock mechanisms for rifles that can be used to only allow the action of the firearm to be separated when in a “safe” configuration and to not allow the firearm to be fired when the action is at least partially separated. Various embodiments relate safety interlock mechanisms that are installed during the initial production and manufacture of the rifle while other embodiments relate to so-called “aftermarket” kits that can be used to modify rifles that are already manufactured and in the field. While the present disclosure can be useful for a wide variety of configurations, some embodiments of the disclosure are particularly useful for AR-15 style rifles, as described in more detail below.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative rendering of a rifle with a safety mechanism and a removable magazine, according to some embodiments of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, rifle 100 has a butt stock 105, a hand grip 110, a receiver 115 that includes a lower receiver 120 and an upper receiver 125, a hand guard 130, a barrel 135 and a removable magazine 140. Magazine 140 is removable from lower receiver 120 by depressing magazine release button 145. A safety interlock mechanism (not shown in FIG. 1) can prevent the firearm from firing when the action is partially separated, and can also be used to fully separate the action, as described in more detail below.

Now referring to FIG. 2 a left image of receiver 115 is illustrated in a closed position. More specifically, when receiver 115 is in the closed position upper receiver 125 is positioned against lower receiver 120 as shown. A firing safety mechanism 205 is shown in FIG. 3 in a “fire” position.

In some embodiments it may be desirable to prevent receiver 115 from being opened when rifle 100 is in a firing mode. Now referring to FIG. 3 a right image of receiver 115 is illustrated in a closed position. Safety mechanism 205 includes a stop lever 215 extending to a distal end 220. More specifically, stop lever 215 is coupled to firing safety mechanism 205 such that when the firing safety mechanism is rotated, the stop lever rotates in a corresponding fashion. In one embodiment, when the firing safety mechanism 205 is in the fire position distal end 220 of stop lever 215 is pointed towards butt stock 105 of rifle 100, as shown in FIG. 3. In various embodiments a portion of firing safety mechanism 205 may be a “stock” part of the rifle and stop lever 215 can be attached to at least a portion of the firing safety mechanism.

As further shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cam lever 225 extends through lower receiver 120 and includes an arm 230 that is positioned outside the firearm on a same side as the stop lever 215. In some embodiments cam lever 225 is used in place of a rear takedown pin that can be a “stock” part of rifle 100. In FIG. 3 arm 230 of cam lever 225 is prevented from rotating counter-clockwise due to an interference with distal end 220 of the stop lever 215. Thus, stop lever 215, when positioned as shown in FIG. 3 (when in the fire position as shown in FIG. 2), prevents cam lever 225 from rotating counter-clockwise. This prevents cam lever 225 from being used to open receiver 115 of rifle 100 when firing safety mechanism 205 is in the fire position.

Now referring to FIG. 4 safety mechanism 205 has been moved to a “safe” position. As shown in FIG. 5, stop lever 215 has moved to a corresponding vertical position, with distal end 220 pointing towards upper receiver 125. In this position cam lever 225 can be rotated counter-clockwise without interfering with stop lever 215. Rotating cam lever 225 counter-clockwise enables upper receiver 125 to be separated from lower receiver 120, as shown in more detail below.

Now referring to FIG. 6, cam lever 225 has been rotated counter-clockwise such that distal end 220 points towards upper receiver 125, which enables upper receiver 125 to be separated from lower receiver 120. This position can be referred to as a partially broken action of the firearm. In this position some firearms may still be able to fire if firing safety mechanism 205 is allowed to be rotated to the fire position, even though the action may not cycle within the firearm when it fires. However, as shown in FIG. 6, stop lever 215 prevents firing safety mechanism 205 from being rotated to the fire position when cam lever 225 is in the position to allow the action to be partially broken. Thus, the only way the action can be broken is when the firing safety mechanism 205 is in a “safe” position. Further, once the action is “partially broken” by rotating cam lever 225 counter-clockwise, cam lever 225 prevents stop lever 215 from rotating counter-clockwise, which prevents firing safety mechanism 205 moving to the fire position when the action is partially broken.

Therefore, in some embodiments cam lever 225 and stop lever 215 work together with firing safety mechanism 205 such that the firearm safety mechanism must be in the safe position to break the action, then once the action is broken the firearm safety mechanism cannot be put into a firing position until the action is fully seated again and the cam lever is rotated clock-wise to prevent the action from being partially broken.

In some embodiments when cam lever 225 is positioned as shown in FIG. 6 it can be translated and rotated in such a way that enables upper receiver 125 to be fully separated from lower receiver 120. In one embodiment upper receiver 125 can be fully separated from lower receiver 120 by starting from the orientation as shown in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, cam lever 225 can be translated inwards toward receiver 115 a predetermined distance, then cam lever 225 can be rotated clockwise approximately seventy degrees, then cam lever 225 can be translated out of and away from receiver 115 allowing upper receiver 125 to separate from lower receiver 120. These actions can be reversed to reassemble upper receiver 125 to lower receiver 120. Cam lever 225 can include one or more channels and/or detents to set the predetermined distance and the number of degrees that the cam arm must be rotated to perform the aforementioned function. One of skill in the art will recognize that the channels and detent positions are not limited to the geometry disclosed above and other channels and detent positions can be used with the benefit of this disclosure. The channels and detent positions are shown in greater detail below.

In some embodiments the interlock mechanism described above can be used with a magazine release mechanism that only allows the magazine to be released from the firearm if the upper receiver is at least partially separated from the lower receiver. In this way the two mechanisms can function together to only allow the magazine to be released if the action is broken and the firearm safety mechanism is in the safe position.

Now referring to FIGS. 7-11, cam lever 225 for an AR-15 style embodiment is illustrated. These images are for example only and other configurations can be used. Cam lever 225 includes a pin portion 703 that extends through lower receiver 120 of rifle 100, and also includes an arm having distal end 220, the arm extending transverse to the pin portion. A first longitudinal channel 705 runs along a substantial portion of length of pin portion 703 of cam lever 225. First longitudinal channel 705 transitions to first transverse channel 710. First transverse channel 710 transitions to second longitudinal channel 715 that is shorter than first longitudinal channel 705. Second longitudinal channel 715 transitions to second transverse channel 720.

A first detent 725 is positioned at a distal end of first longitudinal channel 705. A second detent 730 is positioned at an interface between first longitudinal channel 705 and first transverse channel 710. A third detent 735 is positioned at an interface between first transverse channel 710 and second longitudinal channel 715. A fourth detent 740 is positioned at a transition between second longitudinal channel 715 and second transverse channel 720. A fifth detent 745 is positioned at a distal end of second transverse channel 720. Pin portion 703 includes a channel 750 formed along a portion of the pin portion.

Now referring to FIGS. 12-13 stop lever 215 for an AR-15 style rifle embodiment is illustrated. These images are for example only and other configurations can be used. Stop lever 215 can include a through hole 1205 that enables the stop lever to be attached to firing safety mechanism 205. Stop lever 215 can also include a raised interlock feature that enables stop lever 215 to interlock with firing safety mechanism 205 such that when the firing safety mechanism is rotated the stop lever 215 rotates with the firing safety mechanism.

Although rifle 100 (see FIG. 1) is described and illustrated as one particular firearm, embodiments of the disclosure are suitable for use with a multiplicity of firearms. For example, any firearm that has a safety mechanism and a receiver can be used with embodiments of the disclosure. In some instances, embodiments of the disclosure are particularly well suited for use with receivers that separate into an upper and a lower receiver to provide a means for actuating the magazine release interlock mechanism. As used herein, a firearm includes any device that is capable of receiving a round of ammunition and discharging the round. Such devices can include, for example, semi-automatic and automatic rifles of any caliber, pistols and shotguns as well as all military firearms.

For simplicity, various internal components, such as the firing mechanism, the complete magazine release mechanism, and other components of rifle 100 (see FIG. 1) are not shown in the figures.

In some embodiments cam lever and stop lever can be a modification kit that when installed on a standard rifle can enable improved safety features as described above. As defined herein, the action of a rifle can include the upper receiver and the lower receiver and separating the action can be defined as when the upper receiver is at least partially separated from the lower receiver.

In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the disclosure have been described with reference to numerous specific details that can vary from implementation to implementation. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The sole and exclusive indicator of the scope of the disclosure, and what is intended by the applicants to be the scope of the disclosure, is the literal and equivalent scope of the set of claims that issue from this application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any subsequent correction. The specific details of particular embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without departing from the spirit and scope of embodiments of the disclosure.

Additionally, spatially relative terms, such as “bottom or “top” and the like can be used to describe an element and/or feature's relationship to another element(s) and/or feature(s) as, for example, illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use and/or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as a “bottom” surface can then be oriented “above” other elements or features. The device can be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An interlock mechanism for a firearm having an upper receiver and a lower receiver, the interlock mechanism comprising: a stop lever that is coupled to a firearm safety mechanism such that when the safety mechanism is in a “fire” position the stop lever prevents the upper receiver from being separated from the lower receiver and when the safety mechanism is in a “safe” position the stop lever allows the upper receiver to be separated from the lower receiver.
 2. The interlock mechanism of claim 1 further comprising a cam lever that has a “locked position” in which the upper receiver cannot be separated from the lower receiver and an “unlocked position” in which the upper receiver can be separated from the lower receiver.
 3. The interlock mechanism of claim 2 wherein when the safety mechanism is in the “fire” position the stop lever prevents the cam lever from transitioning from the “locked position” to the “unlocked position”.
 4. The interlock mechanism of claim 2 wherein when the cam lever is in the “unlocked position” the cam lever prevents the safety mechanism from transitioning from the “safe” position to the “fire” position.
 5. The interlock mechanism of claim 2 wherein the cam lever includes a pin portion that extends through the lower receiver and an arm that extends transverse to the pin, wherein the arm has a distal end.
 6. The interlock mechanism of claim 1 wherein the firearm is an AR-15 style rifle.
 7. A rifle modification kit comprising: a cam lever including a pin portion that couples an upper receiver of the rifle to a lower receiver of the rifle; a stop lever that is attached to a safety mechanism of the rifle; wherein when the safety mechanism is in a fire position the stop lever prevents the cam lever from rotating from a locked position to an unlocked position in which the upper receiver can be decoupled from the lower receiver; and wherein when the safety mechanism is in a safe position the cam lever can rotate from the locked position to an unlocked position enabling the upper receiver to be decoupled from the lower receiver.
 8. The rifle modification kit of claim 7 wherein when the cam lever is in the unlocked position, the cam lever prevents the safety mechanism from being moved from the safe position to the fire position.
 9. The rifle modification kit of claim 7 wherein the cam lever includes a pin portion that extends through the lower receiver and an arm that extends transverse to the pin, wherein the arm has a distal end.
 10. The rifle modification kit of claim 7 wherein the rifle is an AR-15 style rifle. 